Fundraising of the Year – Venture Capital

Blackbird Ventures VI (Blackbird)

Blackbird closed its latest set of Australia and New Zealand-focused funds in August 2026 with commitments of AUD 1.05bn (USD 740m). The firm raised AUD 1bn in the prior vintage. About 10% of the capital in Fund VI – comprising separate early-stage and growth-stage vehicles – was raised from international investors. Seven new global relationships were added to the LP base, including Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Adams Street Partners, and Schroders. Australia and New Zealand institutional capital accounts for about 80% of the fund, mostly superannuation money. A 40-60 split between early-stage and growth-stage deals is expected, with ownership stakes of 15%-20%.

Fireside Ventures Fund IV (Fireside Ventures)

Fireside Ventures closed its fourth India-focused fund on USD 253m in December 2025. Institutions and family offices account for 75% and 25% of the capital, respectively. Institutional backers reportedly include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), HarbourVest Partners, and Fidelity International. For reasons of strategic discipline, Fireside ended its practice of doubling in size with each vintage, setting a target of USD 230m for Fund IV – on par with the USD 225m raised for Fund III. While earlier funds were heavily supported by Indian investors, the foreign-domestic split in Fund IV is roughly 50-50.

Lightspeed China Partners VI (Luminous Ventures)

Lightspeed China Partners rebranded as Luminous Ventures – underlining its independence from the global Lightspeed business – and closed its sixth early-stage China fund on USD 460m in April 2026. The fundraising process began in late 2024 with a USD 400m target. Commitments came from sovereign wealth funds, endowments, pensions, fund-of-funds, family offices, and technology companies across the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Luminous raised USD 920m in the prior vintage, which included a USD 460m growth fund. There wasn’t a new iteration alongside Fund VI, with Luminous noting that the existing vehicle still has USD 200m in dry powder.

Monolith Venture Fund II (Monolith Management)

Monolith Management closed its second China-focused US dollar-denominated VC fund at the hard cap of USD 289m in November 2025. Monolith Venture Fund II is slightly larger than its predecessor, which closed on USD 264m in June 2023, with commitments coming from US endowments, Asian family offices, and fund-of-funds. New investors include an Asian sovereign wealth fund. The fundraising process – which ran alongside that of Monolith’s debut renminbi fund – took about three months. Aggregate subscriptions across both vehicles amounted to 160% of the initial targeted capacity. Allocations were cut back on a pro rata basis to maintain fund size discipline.

Peak XV Partners India Venture Fund IX/Peak XV Partners India Seed Fund III/Peak XV Partners APAC Fund II (Peak XV Partners)

Peak XV Partners closed its latest set of funds in February 2026, with USD 1.3bn split across India venture, India seed, and Asia-Pacific vehicles. This was the first time the manager had tested the market since ending its tenure as the India and Southeast Asia-focused affiliate of Sequoia Capital. In the prior vintage, Peak XV raised USD 2bn for India venture and growth and USD 850m for Southeast Asia. The overall pool was later cut back to USD 2.4bn – and the firm said on closing the latest fund that it had significant uninvested capital in the existing growth vehicle.